Niger

According to official sources, more than 280,000 people have sought refuge in Diffa region, in southern Niger, due to the continuous violence in the area. This figure includes Nigerian refugees, Nigerien returnees and internally displaced people in Diffa.

Security-wise, the state of emergency declared by the Nigerien government is still in place. At the beginning of June, 70,000 people fled after attacks on the town of Bosso.

The violent activities of the group known as Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP), also known as Boko Haram, in neighbouring Nigeria caused people to flee over the border into Niger’s Diffa region. There were also direct attacks in Diffa, and the military response to the group caused further displacement. By the end of the year, over 300,000 returnees, refugees and displaced people in Diffa region were living in precarious conditions without access to healthcare, and vulnerable to diseases and violence.

To improve healthcare for both the host and displaced populations, MSF worked alongside the Ministry of Health in the main maternal and paediatric health centre in the city of Diffa, in the district hospital in Nguigmi town, and several health centres in the districts of Diffa, Nguigmi and Bosso. MSF also provided medical care and water and sanitation activities in Assaga camp, which hosted some 12,000 Nigerian refugees, and in Yebi, where 30,000 people sought refuge. Teams carried out more than 142,000 medical consultations in the region. In Assaga camp, 2,700 children were vaccinated against measles. MSF also responded in the localities of Gueskerou, Bosso, Chetimari, Gagamari, Assaga, Diffa, Damasak and Djamea, distributing over 2,500 relief kits to refugees and internally displaced people, as well as to host communities where resources were overstretched.

The cholera emergency response that began in December 2014 in Diffa region ended in mid-January. MSF had set up two cholera treatment centres in Diffa town and Chetimari, with a total capacity of 130 beds and treated 260 patients.